Greedy Trial Lawyer
The VA's Medical Records System Has Much Going For It
Category: Right On!
The New York Times Opinion section is probably not where the medical profession turns for records management advice, but it should.
Physician, Upgrade Thyself, written by Thomas Goetz, informs us of a very low cost software program that has vastly improved the VA's records system and can do the same for medical facilities throughout the country.
GO into almost any medical office, hospital or clinic in the United States and your records will still be handled the old-fashioned way -- on paper. You can use a computer to pay your taxes, to program your TiVo or to read a message from your great-aunt, but your doctor has to practically level a forest just to examine your medical files. The cost, however, isn't calculated in trees but in human lives: Electronic medical records would reduce the risk of medical errors and spare hospitals the expense of missing records and unnecessary treatment.Health care providers have been dreaming about electronic records for so long that the idea has begun to seem like vaporware, a never-to-be-realized fantasy similar to flying cars and jetpacks. But there is already a clear software standard, an open-source system that's low-cost, easy to use and readily available. It could be the key to the health care system we ought to have already.
The program, WorldVistA, is based on the Veterans Affairs Department's electronic-records system, called VistA (short for Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture -- and yes, they beat Bill Gates to the name). VistA stands as perhaps the greatest success story for government-developed information technology since the Internet itself.
...in 2002, a group of former Veterans Affairs programmers and open-source advocates formed WorldVistA. They set about making a version of VistA that was simple for health care providers to use, and the fruit of their effort is now ready for market. Like VistA, WorldVistA is robust and fast. In April, the software was approved by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. The certification means that WorldVistA is ready for broad adoption.
WorldVistA isn't perfect. It isn't as customizable as some proprietary systems, and its graphical interface isn't as intuitive or as polished. Worse, its back-office functions -- staffing and billing -- aren't all that strong. Major hospitals and health maintenance organizations in search of a Cadillac are free to spend the dollars to buy one.
But for the vast majority of health care providers, WorldVistA is what they've been waiting for: a low-cost, simple-to-use system that makes it easier to provide quality health care.
Even a greedy trial lawyer can appreciate the benefits of an electronic medical records system.
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